On a mid-week afternoon, the tiny village of Asthall in Oxfordshire is near-deserted. In the late September sunshine, just a few locals wander the winding country roads or catch the sun outside its pub, The Three Horseshoes. The rural outpost, home to around 250 people, can heave with visitors on the weekends, but enjoys a reliable weekday hush, residents say.
A Rare Sighting at The Three Horseshoes
The Duchess of Sussex was spotted at The Three Horseshoes with celebrity friends Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, on Monday - a rare sighting during an otherwise low-key return to Britain with Prince Harry and their children around a month ago. A covert snap of her at the pub was the first photographic evidence she was out and about in the country; any villagers who might have seen her stayed tight-lipped when asked.
History and Seclusion
Asthall is best known as the childhood home of the Mitford sisters, the glamorous 20th-century aristocrats whose lives spanned literature, politics and high society. The gabled Jacobean manor house they grew up in sits slightly raised above the village, its honey-coloured Cotswold stone flanked by six acres of gardens. Now a private home, occasionally hosting exhibitions and charity events, it was the inspiration for Alconleigh, the fictional estate in Nancy Mitford’s novel, The Pursuit of Love.
Around it, the rest of Asthall is made up of other picturesque properties, many scattered along the River Windrush. The valley brings sweeping views of the surrounding hills, and as the writer made their way out of the village, walkers could be seen crossing the fields on the network of paths connecting Cotswold villages.
Meghan’s priority may have been Asthall’s seclusion, but its size belies a rich history: a quintessential village church dating to the 12th century and the remains of a Roman settlement on Akeman Street, the road that once linked Cirencester and St Albans.
Contrast with Nearby Bustle
The contrast between Asthall’s weekday calm and the region's usual buzz is on full display nearby. Just up the road is Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, doing a brisk trade with a packed car park and queues out the door. Ten minutes the other way is Burford, often called the “gateway” to the Cotswolds, its high street busy with tourists easily spotted by their accents, backpacks and visitor leaflets. Both places have their own appeal - livelier, more sociable, with room to browse and sample the region’s renowned food and scenery. Asthall offers something quieter instead.
The writer was struck, too, by the warmth of the few people met. As a journalist, it is reasonable to expect to receive a cold shoulder in this part of the world, with locals wary of gossip about their well-known neighbours. But while no one had much to say about Meghan, every conversation opened with a cheery “how are you?” and the typically British ritual of remarking on the weather.
The weekend crowds come to Asthall for the chance of a celebrity sighting and a pretty photo. But beneath that lies something more grounded - a real sense of history and welcome. Exactly where in the Cotswolds Harry and Meghan have settled remains unclear. But if it’s anything like Asthall, one afternoon there was enough to understand the appeal.
